


10 Things I Hate About You

by cypherwylie



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Everyone is the same age because I felt the need to include them all in high school, F/M, Friends to Lovers, I guess.. it loosely has canon plot mixed with a few changes to fit my own plot, Implied past rini, Light Angst, Love Letters, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23771725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cypherwylie/pseuds/cypherwylie
Summary: When remodelling her room, Gina stumbles upon letters addressed to her name by Ricky Bowen. The very same guy who happens to be her first love yet no longer speaks to her.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/Gina Porter
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	10 Things I Hate About You

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first in a while so i’m kinda rusty (not that i ever written a masterpiece). i’ve only watched the show a few weeks ago and their dynamic intrigued me so i was basically a “ghost” fan lurking through twitter searches of the ship to see if i was reading into it or if people also preferred their dynamic over the main one. 
> 
> english is not my first language and i don’t live in the us so inaccuracies to high school might happen as all my research is based on movies and tv shows. 
> 
> enjoy!

Gina huffs at another full box of clothes she had at the back of her drawer since freshman year. Having started senior year, Gina finally decided to stop procrastinating and clean up her room. After all, she is getting much closer to her adulthood and no longer enjoys half the items still placed in her room. Or so she says. 

Although a tiring experience, it’s a fun one indeed. The soft blue sweater she thought she lost sophomore year has always been at the back of her closet. Too bad it doesn’t fit anymore. She places in a box next to her, going to examine her almost empty closet. She places the school bags she has had throughout her school years on bed to check it out later and continues with her job. Gina then finds herself holding a soft pink flamingo and a polaroid photo of the same day. She remembers the day vividly. It was her first outing with a group of friends and she remembers being nervous that she would make a fool of herself and would remain as friendless as she had been her whole life. Just regular anxiety struggles, she tells herself. Teen angst, everyone has it.

_“Are you nervous?”_ Ricky had asked her, sneaking up from behind and holding her hand. Gina stared at it before looking back at Ricky, one of his smiles spreading on his face. He is just an average guy, Gina has no reason to feel this way. Or, to feel that way back then.

_“No,”_ she remembers saying at the time. Ricky hummed and made no decision to let go of her hand. 

_“C’mon,”_ he said. He pulled her up to one of the arcade booths. _“Choose a toy. I’ll win it for you.”_ He smiled. After putting a coin into the machine Ricky sighed in concentration. _“Ya know, I used to come here all the time with my dad and Nini when we were younger. I know all the secrets to this claw game.”_

_“Can you get me the white polar bear then?”_ She asked. Ricky hummed but eventually fails in pulling it out. _“I thought you knew all the secrets,”_ she laughed. 

_“I do,”_ he pouted and placed another coin into the claw machine. He brought out a pink flamingo with him on that turn. _“Ok, it’s not the one you wanted but it’s cute, too. You can call it Sargent Fear because it will be here to protect from all your fears and not let you be nervous because we’re all glad to have you here.”_ He smiled and held Gina’s hand out so he could give the flamingo.

_“I’m not calling a flamingo Sargent Fear, that’s a stupid name.”_ Gina laughed. _“Thank you.”_

Ricky smiled and gave a small nod, _“maybe you should be giving me a kiss if you’re that thankful.”_ He said brightly and Gina knew he was joking but still takes the opportunity to hold Ricky’s cheek with her free hand from the stuffed toy and place a soft lingering kiss on his other cheek.

_“Thank you,”_ she whispered, thumb lightly caressing his cheek. She could hear her own heartbeat beating out of her chest at the time. She can still feel it right now as she remembers that moment. 

Ricky had held the hand she had placed on his cheek, a soft smile favouring his face and as cliché as it felt for Gina to admit, his eyes did seem to hold the stars.

_“This is a group hangout not a date, guys.”_ Ashlyn said as she came up to them. _“That’s so cute,”_ she pointed to the flamingo in Gina’s hand.

_“I got it for her.”_ said Ricky smugly. _“Hey, Ash, since you have your polaroid, take a photo of us. Two by the way, please. I’m guessing we both want one.”_ Ashlyn nodded and took the photo for them. 

_“Now let’s go join the others.”_ she said, already walking away. Gina and Ricky followed behind, both highly aware they were still holding hands.

Examining the polaroid now, Gina notices she was wearing the exact same soft blue sweater she had just put into one of the boxes. She leaves the flamingo on her bed and places the polaroid on her nightstand.

Gina decidedly continues tidying up her closet by placing her most used clothes and essentials inside and leaves all the boxes of old clothes by the door so her mom could pick it up later. She then finally decides to face the school bags she had along the years, placing most of them in the black trash bag she had in her room. Not really worried about her freshman year books from the three different schools she had attended. She stumbles upon her school bag from junior year. Still very new she has the idea of also giving it away instead of placing it in the trash bag.

Now, Gina has never been the most organised person and she realised even more so when she empties the content of her bag. It is filled with exercise worksheets she had not once taken out of her bag, the photography club application she thought she lost that she even had to ask for a new one. It’s so ridiculous that she even finds the piece of paper her English teacher gave her with a list of books and the curriculum they would be following that year. And reaching the end, her eyebrows furrow picking up messily folded pieces of paper sweetly addressed as _Gina ♡_. It was right at the bottom of her bag so it’s not a mystery to her how an unorganised person like her was able to miss them. The mystery lied on the fact she knew for sure she wasn’t the one to put it there.

She examines one of the folded papers and opens it only to see a cutely written #3 on the left corner. Guessing quickly that there must be an order to them she opens them all and places it in order. 

  
  
  


_#1_

_Hey Gina. I was going to write Dear Gina but this already seems corny enough and I already think you’re gonna laugh at me as it is because I know this is not really your style._ Gina smiles and lets out a small giggle because it is true. _You’ve probably already guessed who I am because of my handwriting but to keep the aesthetic of all of this I am not going to reveal who I am just yet._ Gina indeed finds the handwriting familiar but she can’t pinpoint from where she has seen it.

_You’re probably wondering right now why is there a #1 at the top of this love letter. Yes, if it wasn’t obvious yet this is the first of the very mushy love letters coming your way._

_The #1 means it's the first of the 10 things I hate about you. Ok, so maybe I was watching 10 Things I Hate About You and cried with Kat while she read her poem. So here it goes, the first thing I hate about you._

_I hate that you’re too nice. You’re ready to help anyone whether you personally know them or not and I hate that I can never understand if you like me when you do that to someone else as well. And in no ways it means I want you to be nice to only me but I hate the fact that I can’t think I’m special because of that. Every time I have my hopes up and let myself be delusional, you’re ready to help someone else and it’s not fair on my heart._

_With much love,_

_your Stargazing Boy. (Because you’re a star and watching you is like watching a night sky. Overwhelmingly beautiful and bright and I could spend hours stargazing. I know it’s too corny but bear with me I am a young boy in love, not Shakespeare)_

  
  


Gina laughs at the end of the letter. Her smile stretches so wide just at the aspect of someone being interested in her. She quickly rushes for the second letter, but just before she is able to read it her mother calls her for dinner and Gina decides it to leave it on hold.

After dinner Gina realises she still has a lot to tidy up in her room so she sets the letters aside to read the next day after school.

  
  
  


Gina spends the day at school eager to read the second love letter – still too weird to even call it that – almost had the rash decision of bringing it to school just so she could read it during her breaks, but eventually decides she really has to wait until after school where she could process the content slowly.

“You seem happier than usual,” Nini says sitting next to her while waiting for Miss Jenn’s arrival. 

“You won’t believe what I found yesterday in my bag. You know I couldn’t hang out this weekend because I said I wanted to start my senior year differently?”

“Yeah, was tidying up your room that great?” Nini asks, confused.

“Don’t interrupt me,” says Gina. “Anyways, I found my junior year bag, you know the pastel blue one with the pink carnations.” 

“Your birth flower,” Nini says, following along.

Gina nods, “yeah. But that’s not it. When I opened it I found letters.” Gina stops and looks around to see if anyone was paying attention to her and lowers her voice, “love letters.”

“WHAT?!” Nini shouts, attracting the attention of most of the theatre students. Both girls left blushing out of embarrassment.

“Nini! Be quiet!” Gina hisses in low tone.

“Sorry but what you just told me is shocking.”

“Hey! I can get love letters.” Gina pouts.

“Not about that, idiot. You’re so beautiful I’m surprised you’re not getting more. I mean, it’s shocking you’re only seeing them now. Do you even open your bag at all?” Nini asks.

“C’mon, ya know I can never keep it organised past the first week of school.” Gina laughs.

Her smile fades as Ricky enters the room laughing at something Big Red says to him and it is evident that her presence bothers him as his expression changes once he looks at her.

“He hates me,” Gina sighs. “I don’t know what I did but I am sure he absolutely hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you. It’s Ricky Bowen, the boy who wears his heart on his sleeve. He couldn’t even hate EJ when they had that stupid rivalry going on and it’s impossible he would ever hate you. The boy is a goddamn hufflepuff for god’s sake.” says Nini. As much as Gina wants to believe her, she just can’t.

“Well, I’m the first person he hates. He hasn’t spoken to me since last year and I don’t even know why.”

“Are you sure you can’t remember anything that could’ve gone wrong? A misunderstanding, maybe.” She then adds, “Well it’s also Ricky who is not great at communication. You probably haven’t done anything and it’s all in his head.”

“We’ve gone over this many times, Nini. If I knew I would have apologised to him already. I can’t apologise for something I don’t know about. I can’t apologise for not being in the wrong.”

“Ok, but have you spoken to him about it? Trying to understand the way he is acting?” asks Nini.

“I asked him about it once, remember?” Gina asks but Nini shakes her head. “He kept ignoring me and I asked him if he was avoiding me and he said he needed time to himself and it was best if we didn’t hang out for a while.”

“Okay, but it’s been months already. We’ve also had summer break and you’ve gone to Spain and he stayed here. Surely, that’s enough time and space.” Nini smiles, “maybe you should try again.”

“You think?” Gina asks, hopeful. Nini simply nods at her. They turn back to the front when Miss Jenn finally rushes in with Carlos behind her.

  
  


It takes all of her energy to go up to Ricky when Miss Jenn finally dismisses them. Just as she is about to quit the idea and simply walk past him Nini pushes her and makes her bump into him.

“Sorry,” she says first, “umm, Nini, I mean- umm” Ricky continues to look at her as the room gets emptier. She looks at him expecting him to say something because he knows she is not great at being vulnerable. But, she also knows he isn’t either. Yet, _someone_ has to start this long overdue conversation that neither of them feel ready to have as much as they want to. Because Gina knows Ricky and she knows that he wants to say something. The thing she has always loved yet hated the most about him was how expressive his eyes could be.

Ricky mutters a quick _it’s okay_ and leaves Gina by herself in the empty room.

“So? How was it?” asks Nini, coming into the room.

“You saw him leave. He clearly didn’t stay long enough to have a conversation.” Gina replies, moving to sit on one of the chairs with Nini by her side.

“Maybe you should try again,” she continues. “It was only the first try.”

Gina sighs, “no offence Nini but I am not running after Ricky. I am not you and I know my worth. None of us are kids anymore and he won’t do to me what he did to you sophomore year. He said I love you but doesn’t actually apologise for what he has done and thought it was enough. As if that was the only problem that had to be solved on his list of fuck ups. He should know better by now, and if he has some fear of stepping forward with me like he did with you, then he should know a song it’s not going to fix it.”

“Hey, of course you know your worth. I also know your worth. And, I also know we are not kids anymore and I am not letting you run after a white boy like Ricky Bowen. Yeah, he is cute but he is also not unique. We can find millions of guys like him in Hollywood once we’re both too big to be playing with Salt Lake City boys. Hell, you could be the next Zendaya and collect as many white costars to kiss and outshine them all.” laughs Nini. “I just want you to get some closure because that’s what _you_ deserve. He is your first friend and the first person you ever connected with, and you deserve so much better than someone who shuts you out like that.”

Gina smiles and hugs Nini. “So you think I could be as big as Zendaya?” she laughs.

  
  


Gina comes into her room and contemplates on what Nini has told her. Maybe she should text Ricky and try again. However, thinking it and doing it definitely don’t go hand in hand and Gina finds herself deleting everything she tries to type and setting her phone aside.

She opens the drawer in her nightstand and takes out the next letter. 

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/cypherwylie) i’m new


End file.
